Echoes of the Past
by Ishikawa Ran
Summary: Ruka... that's Ari... has been set free by the Evil King Stan as a reward for his work... but does he want it? YAOI, StanxRuka, OC.
1. Chapter 1

Echoes of the Past

By: Ishikawa Ran

Rating: MA (XD)

Summary: Ruka (Ari) wakes from an odd dream one year after Stan sets him free as a 'reward' for helping him to full power… Somehow even though now he is free, he can't seem to tear his thoughts from the pointed eared Evil King. The dream, however, proves his ever-growing suspicion… StanxRuka. Yes this is Yaoi. Ruka's POV. Now, I have yet to beat the game, and if I get anything wrong, don't yell at me for it, I thought it was a cute idea. XP So there!

(-o-)

I don't know how it happened. I really don't want to know why. I'm currently lying on my floor, staring up at the ceiling, face red as a beet, and twitching ever so slightly. I've just had a dream. I'm not sure whether I should call it the best dream of my life, or the worst dream of my life… either way…

It scared me.

My last memory of the dream is throwing my head back and… and… Agh! I can't even say it! It started out innocently, the same as it always had. I'm running in the dark and NORMALLY Stan, as a shadow, catches me and scares me you-know-what-less. I've been having the same dream since I was 'freed'. But THIS time, however, he was in his real form… and he had something else in mind besides scaring me. I remember… he laid me down on the ground… It was cold… but, oh, he was so warm. He-… he pulled my pants off… slowly, as if to torture me… and I didn't fight it. I just lay there like I was frozen or… like I wanted what he was doing to happen. I tried to wake up but… it was like he was holding me in that dream. He leaned down and kissed my neck. I think I may have squeaked, but it may have just been in my mind. What ever sound I made, I hadn't had time to think on it as he descended lower… and lower… and…

Agh! Enough!

I sit up quickly and wipe the sweat off my forehead, standing on my weak legs and bracing myself against a wall. I quietly make my way through the halls of my home. Since it's early, no one else is up, thankfully. I dare a quick glance down at my pants and, sure enough, there's an obvious, glaring stain that has worked it's way through. I walk faster and soon am alone in my bathroom. What I need right now is a very, VERY cold shower…

(-O.O-)

"Ruka? Ruka!"

My head jerks up from looking at the ground and I turn to look at one of the many towns people… well one of the brats anyway… "What…?" Wow, I sound so pissed off. I wonder why?

"Why won't you show anyone that stupid shadow trick anymore?" Oh yeah… that's why… "I mean it's been a year, you think you'd be nice enough o show up at least one more time. You didn't forget how, did you?"

"It wasn't a trick…" I hear myself say.

The boy scowled. "Sure it wasn't… Now come on show me the stupid shadow!"

I think, since I'd become so close to Stan in our journeys, something had snapped with all this 'stupid shadow' business… I turn quickly and grab the kid's collar, shoving him hard against the tree. "STAN WASN"T STUPID!" I snarl, glaring the boy down like the very enemies I defeated one year ago…

"G-Geez, Ruka, I just wanted to see it again, you don't have to be s-such a dick about it…" I hear him say.

Then it clicks… What am I doing? I let go. "S-Sorry…" I bite my lip and turn to run the other way.

"Wait, Ruka!" I pause and cringe. "So… you can't do it anymore…?"

I frown and look at my feet. "No…" I whisper, I can hear my voice cracking under the weight of sadness. "I can't do it anymore…" I sprint quickly to get out of the kid's hearing range… that way…

He can't hear me cry…

(-TT.TT-)

Ah yes, and again, fate finds me in my bed… that traitorous bed that let those horrible dreams fill my head… the bed that, for a few choice nights, one year ago, my shadow and I shared… He would scold me for being afraid of my nightmares, and would often give me one just to build up my immunity to them… No slave of the great Evil King Stan will be afraid of a mere image in the mind! That's what he'd said… but every time I'd wake up screaming, he'd be right there… almost… comforting me…

_'Stupid human tears…. What silly things…'_ He'd said… _'Here, let me dry them and we'll try again. We must get you to be stronger than these delusions! If you're going to be my permanent slave, than we best get you as brave as possible. Stop crying, come on…'_

He, for some reason, when we were alone, he'd never blame me for being scared… at all… Yet, when I did the tiniest thing wrong when the others were around it was 'Bad slave!' or 'What did you do that for, you fool!'

He apparently had forgotten all of the horrible things he'd said to me. He also apparently forgot how much he'd sworn that I was going to be his personal slave forever…

_'Slave? Since you worked so hard to get me back to my normal state, I'm going to reward you…'_ My heart had begun pounding at this… reward? Me? I found it hard to believe… but I listened anyway. _'Ruka…_' My first name… not 'slave', as usual… this was beginning to look grim… _'I, the Evil King Stan… am setting you free.'_

Of course I acted happy. Everyone thought that I hated being a slave… but I'd loved being by Stan's side… I admit I was afraid of him at first. Nothing pleased him more than to have the ability to scare me senseless. But… the more I traveled with him and listened to him yammer on about how horribly evil he was… the closer I got to him… to he point that I didn't want to leave… But he was still my master. I wanted to obey. And I did. I am now no longer Stan's slave.

And that mean that nobody's here to dry my tears… Tears, which were currently very disobedient and trailing endlessly, down my cheeks.

"Ruka…?" Oh great… my mom… that's all I need… "Honey, are you all right?"

Of course, this is my mom… she'll understand everything… So it's normal that I just break down and collapse against her, burying my face in her dress, right? …Right? "Okaasan… O-Okaasan…"

My mother wraps her arms around me and rubs my back. "Oh sweetie, what's wrong…?"

I hate that question… the question that makes me have to explain everything. "S-St…" Not to mention after you've been crying till you're dry, it incredibly hard to pronounce anything. "I-I... I miss S-Stan…"

My mom sighs and hugs me tighter. "I figured you would… after spending al that time with him, it's normal for a boy your age to get attached… I wonder why he didn't stay with you…"

"H-He had a world to conquer, Okaasan…" I mutter.

"Yes… but didn't he say that you were his permanent slave?" She asks, still hugging me.

I bite my lip. "H-He said that… he freed me… as a reward…" I whispered. "S-Some reward… I feel completely and utterly miserable…" I buried my face in her dress again. "And Imouto's pink shadow only makes me sad… I can't even talk to her without crying…"

I can almost feel my mother's suspicion. "…As a reward…? Didn't you tell him that you wanted to stay with him?"

My heart skips a beat and I look up… Should I have…? "N-No… I didn't want him to think… that I-I didn't like the reward…"

"But you DON'T like it, do you?"

I look down. "No…"

My mother smiles. "Than why don't you go and tell him that you want to come back?"

I blink… and flinch away. "O-Okaasan! I can't do that! What if he gets angry?" I shake my head. "You don't get it 'kaasan, he's a very prideful person! If I come back and tell him that I didn't like what he gave me, he'll… he'll take it personally…"

Mom's eyebrow rises. "I didn't tell you to tell him you didn't like it… Just find him… and tell him that you want to be his slave again."

I think about it… "O-Okaasan… I-I…" I pause… and laugh silently, tears coming to my eyes again. "…You haven't a clue how odd that sounds coming from a mother's mouth… But all right… Thanks…" I hug her tightly. "So… y-…you're really okay with this…?"

My mom laughs. "I only want the best for my boy… not to mention the fact that he DID save your sister…" And evil sort of smirk comes across her face and I pale. "Not to mention the fact that, checking up with one of the Love Fortune Tellers that traveled in to make sure that my true love was still your father, they let me in on a little secret…" I'm sure my skin is white now. "They said they pitied me for the fact that my SON'S love had ALWAYS come up as the Evil King Stan."

And now my hair is white as well. "O-Okaasan, l-let me e-explain…!"

She giggled. "Oh, you don't need to! I understand completely!" And now the color has returned… a bit too much… A blush paints my cheeks.

"Y-You do…?"

She nods. "That's why you're so tied to him. I figured that much… and I still love you anyway."

I sigh and hug her again. "Thanks Okaasan… Thank you so much…"

"Any time…"

(-.-)

I'm staring at my ceiling once again. My mom has convinced me to leave to today… and I suppose I'm just trying to memorize the crack in my ceiling before I go… I sigh and sit up as I here voices from downstairs. "Come on Ruka! We need to give you a send off!"

I twitch slightly. "Oh joy… Something to make me miss you…" I mumble. I grab the small bag I packed and head down the stairs.

I make it to the foot of the stairs and look around at my family… My mother looks at me as if I'm going off to get married. My father smiles proudly, seeing his young man going off to live on his own. My grandparents smile happily and almost sadly seeing me go, knowing that they might die before I come back to visit… My sister's shadow is still pink. I smile at that. "Hey Ani…" I smile lightly. "Still happy with your shadow?"

She smiles happily. "Yes I am! And I hope it never goes back!"

I smile and hug her. "Oh, it won't, I promise."

She hugs back. "Oh, it had better not! If it ever does, I'm coming to get it back! Do expect me in that case dear brother."

"Count on it." I wander over to my mom and she smiles brightly. "Hey Okaasan…"

She pulls me into a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you Ruka… Please remember to come visit again sometime."

"I will… Trust me… I need to come back for your cooking… I'll miss that too much…"

She smiles and ushers me over to my dad. I smile up at him… well down. I've gotten a bit taller by an inch. He smiles back. "My son…" He pats my shoulder. "If you ever need help you know straight where to go… Oh, and if you see that nice man, Kisling, do tell him to visit as well."

I laugh and hug him lightly. "I will, Otousan…"

Finally, I head to my grandparents. Both look sad and happy all at once… and I hug them tightly. "You'll both be… forever in my heart… I promise…"

My grandfather smiles and hugs me with one arm, as does my grandmother. "Thank you. We hope you live well… We love you."

"Uh huh… that's right honey." I chuckle and hug my crying grandmother.

"I love you both too. Bye…" I say quietly… great, I knew it, I'm gonna start crying… I turn to the door and turn back.

"All right everyone!" My father smiles. "One… Two… Three!"

"Good Luck!"

(-TTTT-)

End Chapter 1.

Me: Yes, Rai, you can hit me whenever you want… But this IS a chapter fic! XD Love you too. As for everyone else, please review! I'll put the next chapter up whether or not you do… but review anyway! Flames will be laughed at, and spit on by Stan.


	2. Chapter 2

Echoes of the Past

By: Ishikawa Ran

Rating: Yep, still MA

Summary: Ruka has begun his search for the one he, though reluctantly, loves the most. Can he find the other after it's been so long? Also, how does he expect to show that he loves him and mean it? One more question… how is he to get the music box back from Marlene…? The OC shows up in this chapter. X3 I promise he won't disturb the plot at all; he's ONLY in this chapter. Consider him a pleasant distraction. You can honestly take that part out and still have the story… Still Ruka's POV.

(-.-)

Three days… Three damn days… and not ONE shred of Stan ANYWHERE! I know he's out there somewhere, I know it. I've checked everywhere in Tenel first, though, I know he won't be there. It was just worth a shot. Another shot I tried was Rashelo… still no luck. I've check Madril up and down, even in the sewers just in case. So far, none of my 'worth a shot's or 'just in case's have worked. I look down to the ground and let out a sigh… though it sounded more like a sob. Not only that, but it seems as though my friends have disappeared off the face of the planet as well… I can't even find Lynda! I fall back against a wall and slide down, hugging my knees to my chest.

Nobody… is here… Nobody…

For the fun of it, I ran into another one of those love fortunetellers a day ago, and, to be sure, I checked with them. Sure enough, I got, 'The Evil King Stan! Get away from me!' I smile at that. I may be a failure, but at least I'm consistent. I found it very refreshing that I had managed the same answer all throughout the journey AND I can still get the same answer now. My commitment to this man… must be larger than life then. At least I know that it's not just a crush that will go away, like with Julia.

A sudden growling interrupts my self-loathing train of thought. A glare down at my stomach and frown… Oh yeah… In the three days I'd been searching, I've forgotten to eat anything. I didn't mention that, did I?

I look in my pouch and sigh as I find that I still have money left over. I'd spent the lot of it trying to get information from important people. I swear, folks these days will do anything for money… I stand weakly and head to Madril, knowing it's still closer than anywhere else.

Heh… three days… and I'm still bumbling around here… I still feel… as if there's something I've left unchecked… Until I check it I'm not leaving.

So what if I don't know what it is yet…?

(-.-)

…

Food…

Maybe searching endlessly for three days WASN'T such a good idea…

I've barely made it to Madril, and my feet are currently ready to collapse beneath me. I probably look like a skeleton… It's late at night and the shops are all closed… My feet finally give out on me and I fall forward, not even bothering to catch my fall. At least I can say I tried… and the newspapers for Madril will have my picture in it, a headline reading, 'YOUNG BOY FOUND DEAD IN STREETS'. That's a great way to end a journey to nowhere…

My ears pick up the sound of what seems to be footsteps. I try to lift my head but can't. Oh great… that's all I need… somebody's gonna think I'm dead now and take me to a morgue…

Wait…

The person sits down beside me and sets a tray of sorts on the ground… I know that smell… not ground, or rain or something disgusting… It's…

"You look hungry."

My muscles seem to have gotten a boost from practically nowhere as I shoot up from the ground and dive at the tray. The food consists of a bit of meat, a nut or two and a loaf of banana bread. I'm pretty sure it was there before, but after I got to it, it didn't see another two minutes of it's life. I look up at my savior and nearly bow down to him… nearly… my loyalty is to Stan and Stan only. "T-Thank you…" I manage.

"Oh it was no problem." He stands again. "Next time you decide to go on a long journey… remember to bring food."

I blink. How does he know… what I'm doing here…? "Hey, could I at least get the name of the person who saved my life?" I ask, almost angrily. It would help to have a name to pass on, wouldn't it?

"Oh please, you'd have lasted another week yet. A person can't starve in three days."

Now I know I've been spied on. How does he know I've been out three days! "Hey! How the hell do you know what I've been doing these past few days!"

"You read like a book… and if you want my name so bad, than fine…" He pauses. "It's Ryou." He begins to walk away again.

I tense and stand up with the strength gained from the food. "Well Ryou. Thanks for the food, but you don't have to be such a jerk… and what do you mean I read like a book!" It's not like me to take things so offensively, but MAN is he pissing me off.

"Do you need a place to stay?"

I pause again. "Um… what? Oh… no I'm fine…" I smile lightly at the offer… and growl. "Hey! You're changing the subject!"

"No, I'd have just thought you guess by now."

"G-Guess…? Guess what?"

The young man smirks. I am SO ready to punch that smirk off his face. "I can read minds. And I take it back… You read like a billboard."

"Are you calling me easy!"

He snickers. "I'm calling you noisy. A can also tell you this. You've been accused my many people as being overshadowed. Soon you believed them and it made you a perfect candidate for the Evil King Stan. It's been a year and you've realized your love and now you're out searching for him. You've practically SCREAMED your whole life at me! I can't even block you out, so it's a bit unfair to me! So if you want to put it your way then, yes, I'm calling you easy."

The whole thing passes me by like a road sign that you neglect to look at before plummeting of the edge of a cliff. "Y-You…" I couldn't finish my sentence… I couldn't even start it. He'd practically read me my whole life story and then some… I shiver lightly and look down, wondering what I should do…

"So…?"

"S-So what…?"

He kneels down in front of me and smiles for real. "Do you need a place to stay?"

I bite my lip and sigh, nodding in defeat… I wonder if this guy's always like this…

(-O.o-)

Tea… I never really liked tea, but I'm drinking it. "Do you… just go up to random people and read off their history like that for a living…?"

Ryou shakes his head. "Nah… I'm normally a home person… I say that because according to the mayor of Madril, I'm not to go out during the day. He was nice enough o give me a permanent room at the Inn, or at least until I make enough money to move…"

"Oh…" A sip the tea… it's alarmingly addictive. "Why can't you go out during the day?"

He sighs. "Too many open minded people… and not the good kind, mind you…" He plopped down on the bed in the small room. "I was a 'daily disruption' to the people of the town. With all the people sending me thoughts whether or not they new it, I was beginning to go insane… They found me curled up in one of the sewer pipes down below. Stupid people… I rather liked it down there… it was quiet."

I look down at my tea… What they did to him wasn't right… but… what could he have done…? "Didn't that think at all about your well being…?"

"Psh, no, of course not. Occasionally, I would break down from all the thoughts in the streets and wind up screaming for everything to stop… Which consisted of me screaming 'SHUT UP!' about three hundred times. Gods, it was hell up on the second level… have you noticed how depressed they are up there? The only remotely happy one was Lynda, but she's gone now… and the counting guy, but that gets on your nerves after a while… A constant '1, 2, 3, 4….' And so on EVERY SINGLE day…" He yawns and leans back. "I've been 'confined to quarters', as he said, for three years now… It gets kind of boring."

"Um… glad I could be of service then…?" I inquire, hoping that I might have done this guy a little bit of good.

"I was glad to come across you… If I hadn't heard your thoughts, I would've thought you were dead!" He laughs.

I twitch and sigh. "I was afraid I was gonna pass out and wake up in a morgue…"

"I know." He says. "You thought that too. That's what I heard."

I turn silently and frown. "Can't you just… you know… block it out?" I ask curiously. Having someone hear your thoughts every second you were with that person wasn't the safest of feelings… not to mention your mind, as if to play jokes, would always think of the wrong things at the wrong time. Like… Stan… That dream… His hands… Shit… Yeah, like that…

The older boy snickers and I blush. "I dunno, kid, never really tried to."

I stand up. "What do you mean you've never tried!"

"In other words, you asked a stupid question and got a stupid answer. I was kidding, of course I've tried." He sighs and rolls over. "I was desperately enough to try anything…"

"Well… maybe you just have to learn how from someone who's known for a while, you know?" I add, hoping I may be of some help… I am also desperate to try anything… It's creepy to have someone reading your mind.

"It's creepy READING your mind, too."

"Hey!"

"I told you I couldn't stop it… but… thanks for the advice… I think I'll do that…" He smiles up at me and points to the bed across the room. "For the journey you have ahead of you, you may want to rest. I doubt it's so easy to find someone your heart longs for so much… knowing life, they'll place them in the most unlikely of places…"

I interrupt him. "I've already checked in the most unlikely of places…"

"The check in the second most unlikely place. You never know kiddo…" He yawns and pulls back the covers on his bed. "See you tomorrow I guess. I'll give you some food and you can be on your way."

I smile and nod. "Thanks for this."

"No problem."

(-.-)

Sun is evil. I've made that revelation. It's glaring through the windows like Hell itself, and needless to say, it's none too pleasant. I roll over and face the other bed… that now lay empty. I blink and sit up looking around. I see no sign of the other anywhere… "But… it's daytime…"

Where could he have gone?

I hop out of bed and stretch… and jump as here the loud footsteps coming up the stairs to the room. The door slams open and I'm not hiding behind my bed. I look over the edge and see Ryou… and the Mayor…?

"I've told you to stay in here during the day! At night you can gallivant as much as you please!" He drops Ryou's collar and slams the door. Never let it be said that the mayor of Madril wasn't strong. Ryou had been lifted above the ground about a foot and was currently flat on the floor.

He suddenly bursts into a giggle fit right there on the floor. "I caught him in a revealing daydream."

I raise an eyebrow. "I won't ask."

"You don't want to." I twitch at the thought.

"Um… I don't remember the sun getting throw in Madril normally… why was it so bright today…?" I ask.

He blinks. "Oh! That! I have false windows. They're afraid I might climb out during the day, so my windows light up during the daytime. The say it help the claustrophobic people."

"Oh…" Okay… Artificial light is evil. I've made THAT revelation…

He sits up, standing and walking over to me. "Here. For your trip." He hands me a bag.

I accept it… I mean it's the food right? I had money, but I guess I have to pay him now. I reach into my pouch and pull out what I think might be the cost… that's more than half of what I have mind you. "Here-"

"Keep it. I have plenty." He smirks and ushers me out. "I'm confined to quarters, not broke."

I smile gratefully at him. "Thanks. I owe you a lot."

"Beats being locked up in the morgue right?" He adds.

"Y-Yeah…" I twitch slightly and wave. "I might see you again, right?"

He shrugs. "Who knows…? See ya kid."

I smile. "Bye."

(-T.T-)

Maybe I should've asked for Ryou's company during this trip? He was just a good guy, and he was a little annoying… but it beats being alone. It's been few hours since I've left and I'm STILL wander around the Rumille plains in hopes if finding something. I already checked everywhere. Every nook and… wait… okay I'm wrong. I DID miss something.

The Escapeless Abyss.

I turn my head towards the dark caverns direction and gulp. Do I really want to go in there alone…? Yeah… Yeah, now I want to go back and drag Ryou with me. He's the closest thing I have to a friend. I turn towards it and sigh. Well I have food now… and I mean the ghosts are gone now… aren't they…?

I shake involuntarily at the thought of fighting a ghost alone... completely alone. Well, if Stan's in there, he'll come save me if I get into trouble… right…? Or he'll just watch me die and laugh it off. He never really was one to care… Okay, I take that back, he cared when he was a part of me and that if I died, he went back in the bottle for another three hundred years… I remember being close to death at one point in our travels. Stan seemed extremely worried. Probably about himself, but that's not significant. I remember his shadowy hands on my shoulders, begging me to try and keep it up…

_'Come on slave! You can do this! Just a little longer. I feel that fake's life weakening; one more hit should do it! Come on! Don't die on me yet!'_ He'd turned to the others. _'Well! Don't just stand there! Help him!'_ It may have been me, but Stan sounded almost frantic… Kisling hurried to give me strength and we won the fight…

Stan had seemed… so caring…

I had made my mind up. I was going to find him if it killed me. There was only one problem… I loved Stan like life itself. How was I supposed to prove that to him…? I twitch slightly as I remember something… mom's music box. But, Agh! That damned Princess still had it! Great! Another detour… I have to get it back from her. It's the only way… I can prove to him…

I swallow hard. What if he doesn't accept it…? What if he throws it back in my face? What am I supposed to do then…? The thoughts in my mind must have gotten to me somehow… I feel tears on my cheeks and hurry to wipe them away. He wouldn't do that, would he? He was asking for it before… but that was just when he and Marlene were fighting over my ownership… That damned Marlene had won most of me, too. 70 my ass! I'm all Stan's! Unfortunately, I had to give in to get her on our good side for Stan. See? FOR Stan. That's my purpose in life. Everything I've done was for him… and everything I will do is for him.

Only problem is, know that I have to get the music box back from Marlene, I have to find her first… I sigh. That's gonna take forever… Knowing her now, she'll want to wander the world. She could be anywhere. I've been in Rashelo already, but hey, maybe in the time I was gone, she showed up there…? I doubt it, but it's worth a shot…

Oh great… here comes that 'worth a shot' thing again… I've got to stop saying that, it's probably jinxing me. I head towards the town and send a woebegone look back towards the Escapeless Abyss. "You'd better be in there Stan… after all I'm going through, you owe me a VERY loving 'Welcome Back'…"

(-OxO-)

Rashelo, once again, failed to come through for me. I'm still here of course, hoping maybe Marlene'll show… or at least contact me some how… I sit on the docks and glower out to the sun as it sets and dims before me behind the end of the world. I sigh and lean back on the wooden ground, hoping that something will just strike me down… either that or bring good news. As the stars begin to peak from their dark hiding spot and groan and roll onto my side. I'd given up wishing on stars when they failed to bring Stan back to me… when they wouldn't carry out my one true wish.

Well… maybe… they'll be nicer this time…

"I don't…" I dart a glance around, making sure everyone is inside and no one is watching… Can't have me making a fool of myself. "I don't want you… to find Stan for me. I just… I need that music box. Just start me off and the rest of the journey will be up to me… please, don't deny me this…" I close my eyes.

"Deny you what?"

Jumping out of my skin would be a bit under exaggerated in this case. I turn quickly to see who spied on me… and find myself face to face with a little girl.

"Deny you what?" She repeats.

I smile. "O-Oh it's nothing…"

"Ok… well some lady told me to give you this. She was here about three weeks ago and said that you needed it because you didn't like her. Look, see?" She digs into her skirt pocket and pulls something out. "She gave me candy!"

I blink and look at the little brown paper wrapped package in her other hand. "Who did you say gave this to you…?"

"Some lady. She was kinda mean but nice-ish. She had red hair… Oh! She was the lady who came with that butler a long time ago!" She smiles and hands me the package. "Anyway. That's all." She promptly leaves.

The princess was HERE! Damn! I knew I should've come earlier! I look down at the package and the breath catches in my throat… it looks… the perfect size for… No way… My resolve leaves me and I tear the brown paper off the box, opening and taking out what's inside.

My muscles freeze. My brain snaps. My heart is pounding so hard I think it's jack hammering its way out of my chest. I smile brightly and look up at the stars, which denied me so much in the past… "Thank you…" I whisper. In my hands I now hold the one thing that I needed for this journey to be complete…

The music box.

(->w -)

Ran: Yay! Another chapter finished! I'm on a roll here! I'd just like a moment to thank the one person who inspired me to write this so quickly:

Anarchy'sreign: "im not really a big fan of Ruka x Stan but still...this story can be an exception!"

Ran: I'm so proud! XD Thank you so much! 


	3. Chapter 3

Echoes of the Past

By: Ishikawa Ran

Rating: Still M It wont go no where…

Summary: Ruka's finally, and mysteriously gotten the music box without having to talk to Marlene and fall for another one of her 'I own you' ploys. He's now to head back to the Escapeless Abyss and hope that the one he's searching for is there… Will Stan be there? And more importantly, will he accept the boy's love with open arms?

(-w-)

You would guess that my journey would only get easier from here, right? Well, as much as I thank you for caring, no, it isn't like that. I never did like the Escapeless Abyss all that much as it is… but thinking about going in and actually doing so are two completely different things. Especially when you have no one with you to accompany you… no one telling you to 'Hurry slave!' or 'I can sense that foolish Evil King somewhere here… We shall go!'

I sigh and look at the ground kicking my feet in the dirt. There aren't many ghosts in here really… even if I DO run into one, it's not like I can't defeat it… and they only ever run into you when you don't want to see them. I remember when I was almost defeated by the Ex-Chairman Evil King and he threw us all out of that one chamber and told us that we weren't worth the fight, come back when we were. Stan was displeased with only me of course…

_'You foolish slave! When I ask you if you're ready for a battle you answer me truthfully!' _He'd swung around and wrapped me up in the tail of his shadow. He leaned close to my face and looked me in the eye… _'Do not fear though…I do not ONLY blame you for this… Don't tell a soul, but none of us seemed to be ready for this match…_' I smile. It was always me whom Stan was completely honest with… well, maybe Roselyn too; if you count the fact that he can be brutally honest… especially when she has the Rapier to my throat. It was the only thing he could do to keep her from killing me was not to lie… or… lie really well. He tended to lie a lot more than tell the truth…

I sigh again and took a surprisingly brave step forward into the chamber. I swallow hard and take a few more steps, placing myself fully into the chamber… and jumping sky high when a block of stone slams itself down in front of the entrance, blocking the only exit from the escapeless abyss. I turn quickly to stare at the block… and I know now that Stan had better be in here. If he wasn't, I was doomed to wander these dungeons for the rest of my life… which wouldn't be long. I had enough for what, three days? A week if I made it last?

I drop to my knees and bite back a sob. This was a bad thing to do in my case, but doubt and guilt suddenly fills my head. There's guilt that my family will never know that I died in a cave… doubt that Stan's even in here. What if he wasn't….? What if my search had been completely in vain and while my family thought I was living a happy life as Stan's love slave, I was really starving to death in a cave, wondering why the hell I was STUPID enough to look in an Abyss that Stan would probably never come to! He had said himself that it was typical of an imposter Evil King who thought that a dark and creepy place like this would suffice as a hide was TRULY an imbecile… and I was truly an imbecile for coming here. Imagine me, thinking that I would find Stan in a place he'd said he would never sink low enough to stay in. That's the last time I follow my gut feeling! Then again, it may have been the last time I could ever follow it. I stand and shake it off… maybe… maybe my gut feeling was right…? Maybe Stan foresaw this… and was waiting for me here…?

It's that thought, and that thought alone that keeps me moving, letting me take another step forward and walk down the stairs at the end of the corridor. I don't remember another time that I was this driven. I want so badly to find Stan that I'm risking my life and my sanity, most likely, just for this… Gods, it had better be worth it.

(- w -)

My head hurts, I'm tired, I'm hungry, and my ass hurts! Everything makes sense in that last sentence. I'm thinking to hard, I refuse to sleep without finding my way, I'm trying to save my food for when I REALLY need it… and I've fallen threw about five holes in the floor. I've also been attacked by about twelve ghosts, which is making this journey a WHOLE hell of a lot better… I finally collapse in a corner and swing my bag around, taking out a small bun and eating it as slow as I can, hoping my stomach would believe that it was getting more food than it really was.

I've been making the mistake of running towards moving shadows in hopes of it being Stan. But it never was. It was only ghosts that wanted a decent meal. I know flinched away from the shadows after I identified them as what they were. Not Stan. Run. Words to live by. At least in my case. My cloth headband had ripped and my hair was a bit awry now… My shirt is ripped across my chest, exposing most of my skin… and it's cold. Joy. Rapture.

Fucking glory…

I probably look horrible… but at least I'll be able to show Stan EXACTLY what I went through to get to him. I would hate to have them see me like this… Clothing torn, hair a mess, tear streaked face… Yes, I've been crying. Did you know it's hard to swallow food when you cry? I'm finding this out the hard way.

Yes, it's true. I'm crying right now. Right this second; Stan-induced tears are keeping me from enjoying what may be my last meal. Stan-induced sobs are wracking my skeleton like frame and luring ghosts towards me, slowly but surely. Stan-induced thoughts are haunting my mind… I want him back now… "S-Stan… DAMN YOU!"

I couldn't even lift my sword let alone fend these things off… great; I'm going to die… I'm seriously going to die… I open my eyes and see a blur of blue flash in front of me… I must be going insane. That looked like James.

Wait…

James!

The ghosts that were after me flee from the sudden appearance of the ghost butler, and I think I got my second wind. I stand weakly and wander towards my savior. My heart is pounding… I can feel it in my ears, is that normal? "J-James! Y-You're here… that means Stan is here! You know where he is?" It doesn't occur to me at all that his turned his back to me…

"Come with me…" James' voice is full of sorrow… That's not good… normally he's so perky and happy and crying with joy about how great his master is…

Oh god… He… Stan couldn't be dead, could he…? My heart drops and I reach out and touch James' shoulder. "What's wrong…? Nothing's happened to him, has it…?" I feel my throat tighten as tears try to work their way out of my eyes. Please don't let him be dead… He can't be dead…

"My master could never die such a petty death. If he were dead it would be from killing himself, for he is the only one strong enough to take his life!"

My heart unclenches. "He's fine then…?"

James, who had reverted back to his happy master-proud self, was suddenly sullen again. "No… He's not… completely fine… Just come with me…"

The only time the James had ever told me the Stan wasn't 'completely fine' was when I had a small, awkward run in with Epros… The blonde had started to talk to me, but had dropped his rhymes. This made me nervous….

"_Ruka… I need to speak with you."_

_"Epros? Is something wrong?" _I was already nervous by this point… Epros didn't even talk to Lynda without speaking in rhyme.

Epros had only smiled… and the lights went out. That meant that Stan would have no way of hearing whatever the other had to say. Of course, neither of us had seen that the door was open a crack, and a pair of jack-o-lantern like eyes were peering sneakily at the scene about to unfold. "_It is something I can remedy… but I fear that after you're aware of what I have to say, you may never trust me again…"_

_"What makes you say that…? I trust you Epros, come on… You know me better than that."_

_"I also fear you do not know me enough."_ Epros leaned forward and planted his pale lips on my own. My heart jumped but clenched painfully as I realized I couldn't let this happen… I was going to hurt one of my friends…

_"E-Epros I…"_ I pushed him away a little. _"S-Sorry… I c-can't…"_

_"I understand. I apologize greatly. Please forgive my rudeness…"_

_"N-No, Epros… I-I don't… hate you now… I just... don't feel that way for you… I'm so sorry…"_

_"It is all right, you've no need to fret… It seems our rightful paths are set…"_ He rhymed again… that made me feel a bit better. _"You have your love and I have mine… But our hearts just cannot intertwine."_

I smiled slightly and looked away. _"You'll find that person… I know you will… You can trust me right?"_ I smiled again. I wanted to make Epros feel better about this whole thing… and here I had thought he liked Lynda…?

Epros simply smiled back and ruffled my hair._ "Of course I trust you… I'll trust you with my life."_ The light came back on and Epros silently left the room. I had been feeling more cheerful after that and laid down on my bed… and was suddenly face-to-face with Stan.

_"I trusted you…"_ He had said… and disappeared back into my shadow.

The next day I had spoken with James, who was always well informed about Stan's well being and I only got this as an answer.

_"He isn't… completely okay…"_

I spent the rest of the day trying to convince Stan to come out and talk to me… and only got to apologize before I went to bed. I felt particularly warmer that night, as if someone was hugging me, but I ignored it.

What James said earlier… was Stan upset about something? I don't know… but I'm nervous… what if something had happened…? What if… Gods, I feel like slapping myself. All these what ifs and not one true outcome…

James leads into the same room in which we fought the Ex-chairmen evil king… and there stands the very man I'd been looking for for four days.

"Master…?" I manage, walking forward to the surprisingly stoic looking male. I smile widely and run towards him… The greatest way I can possibly greet him right now is by hugging him, right? "S-Stan! It's really you!" I feel like crying. I ready myself to wrap my arms around him…

And the very hands I wish to be welcome into crash against my chest and I collapse back to the ground. "M-…Master…?"

"Don't touch me." The tone is harsh and unforgiving….

Gods…? What did I ever do to you…?

(-TTTT-)

End Chapter 3

Me: HA! Cliffhanger! TAKE IT! Don't worry it's not the end… XD I'm not THAT mean. I got too many Reviews for me to comment on each one individually… so thank you to everyone who reviewed.


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